Types+of+Science+Fiction

There are so many different types of Science Fiction, it’s difficult to list them all in one place and get everyone to agree. Instead of a complete list (which not everyone would think is complete anyway!) this is a list of common science fiction types for Junior High and Young Adult books.

Dystopian books are about bleak futures. They are set in the future when life is not as good as it is now. Governments are very unjust to their citizens, and most characters live in fear and poverty. An example is //The Hunger Games// by Suzanne Collins.
 * Dystopia**media type="custom" key="7313993" align="right" width="130" height="130"

The future in cyberpunk books is full of robots, cyborgs, and artificial intelligence machines. They are usually set in the near future on Earth when humans may not be the dominate life form. The //Terminator// movies are examples of this type of science fiction.
 * Cyberpunk**

Space operas are set almost entirely in space and include whole solar systems and galaxies as the setting. There are a lot of characters, settings, and conflicts. An example is //Ender’s Game// by Orson Scott Card.
 * Space Opera**

These books are about characters that travel forward or backward in time. They might have an important task to complete in the other time or end up there by accident. //Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony// by Eoin Colfer is an example of a time travel book.
 * Time Travel**

In first contact stories, humans meet aliens for the first time. Usually there is a conflict or even a war between humans and aliens. The most famous example is //The War of the Worlds// by H.G. Wells.
 * First Contact**

These types of books are set in places similar to our own world. You’ll recognize most things in the book, like cars and telephones, but not always the way characters behave or think. One of these books is //The Handmaid’s Tale// by Margaret Atwood.
 * Slipstream**

Characters with special abilities like telekinesis or shape-shifting are called psionic humans. They might be good, evil, or trying to live an ordinary life. An example of superhero science fiction is Bionicle.
 * “Superhero”**

When a story changes history to ask “what if …?” it is an alternate history science fiction book. For example, in //The Explosionist//, Jenny Davidson writes about what England might have been like in 1938 if they had lost the war with Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.
 * Alternate History**

In space westerns, the characters explore and colonize other planets. Sometimes they are in our solar system, and sometimes they are completely imagined planets. An example of this type of science fiction is //Star Trek//.
 * Space Western**

**Home**